Second Cup: When should you schedule meetings?

A listener asks when to schedule meetings that might be intense

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about when to schedule meetings that you
know won't be particularly pleasant. You know they have to happen,

(00:23):
but you also don't want to have them consume more
mental space than necessary. This topic was suggested by a
Before Breakfast listener who wrote in that my most productive time,
like most people's, is in the morning after breakfast. She
wanted to preserve that time for focused work, and so
her inclination was to schedule most meetings for the afternoon.

(00:46):
The problem if she knew the meeting would be rather intense,
she found herself thinking about it all day. She wondered
if it might make sense to just get it over with.
But if I schedule meetings in the mornings, I worry
that I am spending my most productive time in meetings.
It was quite a quandary. In general, her inclination toward

(01:08):
afternoon was sound. People tend to show up at meetings
that are on their calendars, even if they're tired, but
they won't do their best focused work on big projects
at two thirty pm, So it's important to consider the
opportunity cost. If you schedule a meeting at ten am,
people might be slightly sharper, but they may not make

(01:31):
progress on their bigger projects. If the meeting happens at
two pm, on the other hand, they'll be able to
do both. So my suggestion was to continue stacking the
meetings in the afternoon. But she could do a few
things to minimize the mental cost. First, she should make
sure that there was plenty of prep time built in.

(01:53):
During this prep time, she could rehearse anything that might
go awry in the meetings, and the prep time would
also provide a palate cleanser between individual and collaborative work. Second,
since she knew the meetings would be intense, she should
put them as late as possible so that when she
was done she could just stop. So maybe she could

(02:15):
prep it two, schedule meetings at three, four or three
or whatever the time required. Then in normal times, go home.
In social distancing times, log out of zoom and open
the wine. And finally, if the knowledge that meetings are
coming up distracted her, maybe she could just set an

(02:37):
alarm for fifteen minutes before her prep time so she
wouldn't need to think about it. Or even look at
the clock until it's time to go. That way, she
could really get into the flow on individual work. She
wouldn't need to worry about the clock. She could just
focus on what was in front of her. So, if

(02:57):
you've got intense meetings, can that are if there's a
way you can maximize focused work and be in a
good mental place to deal with them. I still think
scheduling meetings in the afternoon is the way to go. Yes,
you're not getting them over with, but if you plan
your day right, you don't need to in the meantime.

(03:20):
This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

(03:45):
then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com.
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

(04:07):
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